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Profile and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction amongst young South Africans

Background Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a leading cause of death worldwide; however, little is known about the clinical profile and outcomes in South Africans under the age of 45 years with AMI. Therefore, we aimed to compare the clinical profile and outcomes of patients younger and older th...

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Main Author: Hoosain, Shakeel
Other Authors: Ntsekhe, Mpiko
Format: Thesis
Language:English
English
Published: Department of Medicine 2026
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access_status_str Open Access
author Hoosain, Shakeel
author2 Ntsekhe, Mpiko
author_browse Hoosain, Shakeel
Ntsekhe, Mpiko
author_facet Ntsekhe, Mpiko
Hoosain, Shakeel
author_sort Hoosain, Shakeel
collection Thesis
description Background Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a leading cause of death worldwide; however, little is known about the clinical profile and outcomes in South Africans under the age of 45 years with AMI. Therefore, we aimed to compare the clinical profile and outcomes of patients younger and older than 45 years treated for AMI at a South African tertiary centre. Method We reviewed the hospital records of all patients admitted with AMI to the Coronary Care Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town in 2016. Poor outcome was defined as death, readmission with heart failure or an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) within 12 months of the index presentation. Results This study included 302 patients, of which 48 (15.9%) were younger than 45 years. A third of the young cohort had premature coronary artery disease. Smoking was the most common risk factor amongst young patients (72.2%). In terms of metabolic risk factors, the older cohort was more likely to have hypertension (68.9% vs 52.1%, p=0.024) and dyslipidaemia (49.6% vs 31.2%, p=0.019). Albeit common in both cohorts, there was no significant difference in prevalence between diabetes mellitus or smoking history. The older cohort was more likely to have poorer outcomes (27.2% vs 6.2%, p=0.002), a significantly higher prevalence of death (10.1% vs none, p=0.033) and readmission for either heart failure or ACS (18.9% vs 6.2%, p=0.032). Page 8 of 27 Conclusion We showed significant differences in the risk factor profile and outcomes of young patients with AMI compared to older counterparts, however, traditional risk factors for coronary artery disease remained common. This highlights the importance of implementing prevention strategies for AMI at earlier ages in South Africa.
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language English
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2026
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/43122 Profile and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction amongst young South Africans Hoosain, Shakeel Ntsekhe, Mpiko Acute myocardial infarction Coronary Care Unit Groote Schuur Hospital hypertension Background Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a leading cause of death worldwide; however, little is known about the clinical profile and outcomes in South Africans under the age of 45 years with AMI. Therefore, we aimed to compare the clinical profile and outcomes of patients younger and older than 45 years treated for AMI at a South African tertiary centre. Method We reviewed the hospital records of all patients admitted with AMI to the Coronary Care Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town in 2016. Poor outcome was defined as death, readmission with heart failure or an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) within 12 months of the index presentation. Results This study included 302 patients, of which 48 (15.9%) were younger than 45 years. A third of the young cohort had premature coronary artery disease. Smoking was the most common risk factor amongst young patients (72.2%). In terms of metabolic risk factors, the older cohort was more likely to have hypertension (68.9% vs 52.1%, p=0.024) and dyslipidaemia (49.6% vs 31.2%, p=0.019). Albeit common in both cohorts, there was no significant difference in prevalence between diabetes mellitus or smoking history. The older cohort was more likely to have poorer outcomes (27.2% vs 6.2%, p=0.002), a significantly higher prevalence of death (10.1% vs none, p=0.033) and readmission for either heart failure or ACS (18.9% vs 6.2%, p=0.032). Page 8 of 27 Conclusion We showed significant differences in the risk factor profile and outcomes of young patients with AMI compared to older counterparts, however, traditional risk factors for coronary artery disease remained common. This highlights the importance of implementing prevention strategies for AMI at earlier ages in South Africa. 2026-04-23T08:47:36Z 2026-04-23T08:47:36Z 2023 2026-04-22T07:46:19Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters Masters http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43122 en eng application/pdf Department of Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Acute myocardial infarction
Coronary Care Unit
Groote Schuur Hospital
hypertension
Hoosain, Shakeel
Profile and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction amongst young South Africans
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Profile and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction amongst young South Africans
title_full Profile and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction amongst young South Africans
title_fullStr Profile and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction amongst young South Africans
title_full_unstemmed Profile and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction amongst young South Africans
title_short Profile and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction amongst young South Africans
title_sort profile and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction amongst young south africans
topic Acute myocardial infarction
Coronary Care Unit
Groote Schuur Hospital
hypertension
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43122
work_keys_str_mv AT hoosainshakeel profileandoutcomesofacutemyocardialinfarctionamongstyoungsouthafricans